Turn over the packaging on Schnucks Select breads, and you'll find a hard-to-pronounce food additive in the list of ingredients. Azodicarbonamide (pronounced eye-zo-die-car-BON-a-mide) got national attention earlier this month after food blogger Vani Hari pointed out the chemical is also found in yoga mats and synthetic leather to add elasticity. It's approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and used in bread to give it a soft texture and increase the volume of the bread.

Schnucks said in a statement that it is taking steps to replace it from its products. Schnucks Select is baked and packaged in St. Louis and on shelves at 10 Rockford-area locations.

"This conditioning agent cannot be removed without changing the consistency and taste of the bread so, the industry is working to find an alternative ingredient," Lori Willis, director of communications for Schnucks, said in response to the Register Star's question about use of the ingredient. "We estimate it will take six to nine months before a replacement can be put into use."

The ingredient is extremely common and found in products at many chains like McDonald's, Arby's, Burger King, Wendy's and Chick-fil-A, according to CNBC. It's also in a host of supermarket products like Sara Lee bagels, Sun Maid raisin bread and Wonder, to name a few. McDonald's says on its website that the commercial version of the chemical that's used for yoga mats shouldn't be confused with the food-grade variation.

Hari, who blogs as Food Babe, pressed for Subway to remove the ingredient through an online petition that has garnered 92,000 signatures so far. Subway announced it would remove the ingredient - and said plans to do so have been in the works for some time - but stressed that the substance is safe. Reformulated bread was in about 1,600 stores in 2013 and the ingredient is expected to be removed from all Subways within weeks, the company said in a statement.

"We are very proud of our leadership role in this latest bread improvement, and we believe that other chains, restaurants and bread manufacturers may follow our lead," the statement reads.

One of the breakdown products of the chemical is semicarbazide, which has negligible risk to humans, but caused cancers in the lungs and blood vessels of mice. When azodicarbonamide is used at the maximum level allowed by the FDA it leads to slightly increased levels of urethane in bread, which poses a small risk to humans, Lefferts statement says.

Page 2 of 2 - The additive is not allowed as a dough conditioner in Australia or Europe.

"Considering that many breads don't contain azodicarbonamide and that its use slightly increases exposure to a carcinogen, this is hardly a chemical that we need in our food supply," Lefferts statement reads.

Schnucks and other grocers have plenty of options without the chemical, for those that prefer to err on the side of caution. Rockford-based Piemonte Bakery Co. Inc, which has products at Schnucks, Woodman's, Pacemaker, Gray's IGA and Valli Produce, does not use the ingredient, owner Steve McKeever said.

Polly Happach, who co-owns Bella Luna Bakery in Rockford with Lorie Parker, said their company sticks with tried-and-true recipes.

"We just use yeast," she said. "It's worked for centuries."

She said awareness about products like azodicarbonamide encourages people to buy locally made products and locally grown produce.

"It may be a little more expensive," she said. "But it's the price you pay to not have plastic in your bread."